This invention relates to a device for releasably attaching a pair of vehicle wheel assemblies together.
A number of devices have been designed to releasably attach an auxiliary or outer wheel assembly to an axle-mounted, inner wheel assembly. With some of these devices, a plurality of bolts or levers must be sequentially tightened to form the attachment. In another type of attaching device, five cups are welded to the rim of the inner wheel assembly and five levers are pivotally attached to brackets fixed to the outer wheel assembly. A screw mechanism may then be screwed into a threaded bore to pivot the levers into engagement with the cups. However, this latter device is disadvantaged in that torque is transferred to the outer wheel assembly via the rim of the inner wheel assembly. Another disadvantage is that the outer wheel assembly may have to be rotated up to 36.degree. to align the levers and cups. Another disadvantage of this latter device is that it cannot be used when the inner wheel assembly is mounted on a long rack and pinion-type axle which extends a substantial distance outwardly beyond the inner wheel assembly and through the plane of the auxiliary wheel assembly.